Random musings of a Northwest resident with a long-standing love affair with temperate climates. Often wandering from model railroad to philosophical and theological musings, and back.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

0-8-0 Powerhouse

This wonderful 0-8-0 runs smooth and has the looks of a powerful participant in the history of railroading. I had no idea it would be so smooth running. It looks good pulling this mixed bag of boxcars and I imagine it would look just as good pulling passenger cars. Unfortunately the track crew (me) did a lousy job on some corners and the thing gets derailed once in a while. Still, I like it and will get the track crew to upgrade enough to have it function properly.

Yep. The frount truck (1 or 2 wwheels) on a steam engine is to help it stay on the track at high speeds in rough places. All "road engines" have a front truck. The trailing truck (also 1 or two wheels) is to support big fireboxes so that there can be high steam pressure: this is for speed (also needed "on the road").

If a steam engine has no front or trailing truck (e.g. 0-4-0, 0-6-0, 0-8-0 and even 0-10-0) then it is a switcher: no fast travel or travel on rought track, or both. You have a little 0-4-0, I think. That kind of engine was phased out (too small) for switching about 1900, except on the Pennsy, where they had a lot of dock track with sharp curves. They kept making their A-5 Class 0-4-0s until 1926.